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Client Bulletin

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eee DATES March 20, 1990

SUBJECT: Preliminary Subdivision Approvals and $.993 Municipal Act

S.933 of the Municipal Act provides:

"Where, after

(a) oan application for a subdivision of land located outside
a municipality has been submitted to a district highway
manager in a form satisfactory to him, or

(b) an application for a subdivision of land within a
municipality has been submitted to an approving officer
and the applicable subdivision fee has been paid,

a local government adopts a bylaw under this Part that would
otherwise be applicable to that subdivision, the bylaw has no
effect with respect to that subdivision for a period of 12 months
after it was adopted unless the applicant agrees in writing that
it should have effect."

In the above Section the words "this Part" have been interpreted
to include any bylaw in Part XXIX of the Municipal Act. Thus a
local government could quite literally lose hundreds of thousands
of dollars in development cost charges.

A more recent decision of the B.C. Supreme Court styled Fernco
Development Ltd. v. City of Nanaimo (unreported November 1, 1989
Vancouver Registry No. A892519) has held that a “preliminary
application" receiving "preliminary approval" is also protected by
S.993 notwithstanding that a complete and full application (with

plans) as required by the Land Title Act has not been made.

As we are all aware a "preliminary application", usually supported
by only a sketch plan, is a convenience to applicants since it
allows them to "obtain a reading" from the approving officer
without the initial expense of actual survey and a complete
application. There is no statutory authority for the making of a
“preliminary application." In our experience Approving Officers

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